Southern California -- this just in

Immigration agent shootings involved 3 supervisors, sources say

February 17, 2012 | 7:47
am

All three people involved in a deadly shooting Thursday at a Long Beach federal building were supervisors with the federal immigration agency, sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Times.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the shooting that left one person dead and another seriously injured and whether it was related to some kind of personal dispute or a professional confrontation, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The sources said the gunman had a lower rank than the two other supervisors.

One Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Glenn M. Anderson Federal Building near the oceanfront died at the scene Thursday night and the other was in stable condition.

One agent fired repeatedly at the other shortly before 6 p.m. With one supervisor wounded, a third intervened and opened fire on the gunman, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to law enforcement authorities.

The male agent who killed the gunman was uninjured.

The wounded agent was taken by a Long Beach Fire Department ambulance to nearby St. Mary Medical Center. The scene outside the multistory building at Ocean Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue was marked by confusion as police and federal agents descended on the site.

As investigators gathered evidence Thursday night and interviewed witnesses, Luis Martinez watched from a parking lot booth across from the federal building where he works as a cashier.

Drawn by the sound of screeching tires, Martinez said, he walked to the building and saw at least four SUVs stopping outside the main entrance. Then Martinez said he saw several police officers storm in.

"Some people were running out and there were two ambulances in the middle" of the street, said Martinez, 25.

Formed in 2003, ICE is the main investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and has agents across the United States and in dozens of foreign countries.

The agents are involved in immigration enforcement, customs inspections, and efforts that target gang members and traffickers who move people and illegal goods into the United States.